C3: Colorectal Cancer Coalition has created an online petition that allows advocates to show their support for the three bills in Congress that will guarantee access to colorectal cancer screening.

Add your name to the petition today!

This information first ran on the C3: Colorectal Cancer Coalition’s “Latest News and Updates” blog on July 15, 2008.

Half of Americans over 50 have not been screened for colorectal cancer according to a new survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

The 2005 National Health Survey interviewed 31,000 adults, including 13,500 who were over 50. It found that 50 percent of people over the age of 50 had been screened for colorectal cancer, but the other half had not. While this was an improvement over the 43 percent screening rate in 2000, it was far from desirable according to the researchers who analyzed the information.

Jean A. Shapiro, Ph.D., an epidemiologist at the CDC said,

Colorectal cancer is one of the leading cancer killers in the United States, behind only lung cancer. Screening has been shown to significantly reduce mortality from colorectal cancer, but a lot of people are still not getting screened.

Dr. Shapiro pointed out that lack of insurance and a usual source of medical care may be an important part of the problem. While over 50 percent of people with insurance had been screened, depending on source of insurance, less than a quarter (24.1 percent) of the uninsured were screened. Almost 52 percent of people who had a regular doctor were screened compared to less than 25 percent of those without a usual source of care.

In addition, Dr. Shapiro said that the expansion of Medicare coverage for screening in 2001 probably also was part of the increase.

She said,

If we can increase the number of people who have health care coverage, we should be able to increase colorectal cancer screening rates.

Other factors affecting screening that the survey revealed included,

• Less education: 60.7 percent of college graduates were screened, compared to 37 percent of those with less than a high school education.
• Lower household income: 58.5 percent of people whose annual household income was $75,000 or more were screened versus 37.4 percent of those who earned less than $20,000.
• Seeing a doctor more often: People who saw a doctor two to five times in the year before the survey were more than two and a half times more likely to be screened than those who had not seen a doctor at all (52.5 percent versus 19.5 percent).

About half of those surveyed who had not been screened reported that they “had never thought about it.” Twenty percent said, “Their doctor didn’t order it.”

SOURCE: American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) News Release, July 14, 2008.

Shapiro et al. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention, Volume 17, Number 7, July 2008.

For information on how C3 is working to increase coverage for colorectal cancer screening and how you can help go to CoverYourButt.Org.

Yesterday, Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) and the rest of the Senate Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee approved its FY 2009 spending bill.

The bill makes major investments in healthcare including:

Colorectal Screenings – The Subcommittee provided $25 million to establish a nation-wide program to support colorectal screenings for low-income individuals.

The full Senate Appropriations Committee is scheduled to consider the FY 2009 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill on Thursday

This funding is above and beyond what is provided for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Colorectal Cancer Outreach Program. We of course need to maintain these dollars in the negotiations with the House, as well as continue pressing to get HR 1738 authorized so there is a framework around the program going forward.

I will keep you updated on any further developments.

By Marilia Sardinha

I recently had a chance to attend the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network’s Fight Back Express Bus tour when it pulled into Maine’s State Capitol. I was excited, since things like this rarely happen in my area and with it only being 20 minutes away, I had to go. I couldn’t miss the opportunity to help spread the word about colorectal cancer and talk about Cover Your Butt.

The Maine Attorney General spoke as well as aides for both of our Senators and our Congressman. A local oncologist was also there supporting the effort.

I met and gave thanks to the bus driver. He is the only one driving this bus all over 48 states. As I shook his hand I felt the tears in my eyes, the emotion of gratitude for the difference he is making for so many people. I told him I was a cancer survivor; he smiled and said “You are very welcome.”

Still feeling emotional I went towards the bus and was amazed at what I saw. Thousands of messages of hope, names of missed loved ones, promises of never giving up the fight for a cure and even some messages of anger. There was barely any room left to sign. I had to take whatever little space I had though, even if I had to climb a ladder to reach.

It made me so happy to see how many allies I have in this fight. I am so proud to be an advocate and know that with each passing day our voices are heard a little louder.

HR 1738, The Colorectal Cancer Prevention, Early Detection, and Treatment Act saw a substantial increase in support after advocates contacted their Members of Congress as part of the C3 Call-on Congress and Congressional Butt-In in March. And it appears that our efforts are working!

C3 has received promising information from the Chair and Ranking Member of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, where HR 1738 currently resides, that the bill may see some action (in other words: get voted on) sometime this summer.

Don’t let up on the pressure to get this lifesaving legislation passed into law. Click here to take action.

On Wednesday, March 19th, C3 sponsored the Congressional Butt-In, a one-day phone blitz to Capitol Hill. We asked advocates around the country to call a toll-free number and get connected to their Members of Congress with the message that colorectal cancer legislation must be passed.

C3 advocates made almost 2,000 phone calls to 340 Congressional offices. Well done, advocates!

Without a doubt, this was a huge success, but it’s important to note that just because the Congressional Butt-In is over does not mean all of our hard work should stop. C3 will keep working to ensure that American butts get guaranteed coverage of colorectal cancer screening and treatment but we need you to keep fighting too.

At this link, you can see how many phone calls were made into the offices of your Members of Congress. Then scroll over to the right-hand columns to find out if they have signed on to support the three colorectal cancer screening bills that are currently pending in Congress (please note: a “Y” in the corresponding column indicates if they have signed on as a co-sponsor of the legislation; it does not indicate a vote in support of it).

If your Members of Congress still need to be convinced to support these lifesaving bills, click here to send them an email - and get your friends and family to do the same.

Congratulations advocates for making the voice of colorectal cancer patients heard loud and clear!

The C3 Congressional Butt-In was made possible thanks to a grant from Genentech BioOncology.

Forty advocates from across the US will come to Washington, DC, on Sunday, March 9th to take the fight against colorectal cancer into the halls of Congress. Their meetings will be a precursor to the Congressional Butt-In on Wednesday, March 19th.

The C3: Colorectal Cancer Coalition’s Call-on Congress will provide advocates with information about how the government weighs in on colorectal cancer. They will hear from soldiers in the fight such as:

• Dr. Richard Goldberg, Chief of Hematology and Oncology at the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, who will talk about how cuts to cancer funding are hurting colorectal cancer patients.
• Reverend Vaughn Profit-Breaux, a colorectal cancer patient who was diagnosed with colorectal cancer early thanks to a state program that is the model for HR 1738, which would guarantee access to colorectal cancer screening to the poor, uninsured and underinsured.

The advocates will then learn how THEY can make a difference for all colorectal cancer patients from leaders in the field such as:

• Jeff Martin, Director of Advocacy Training at the American Cancer Society, who will help the advocates learn how they can build an army of advocates back home.
• Ryan McKee, Legislative Director for Congressman Vito Fossella (R-NY-District 13), who will tell the advocates what to expect when they meet with their Members of Congress; and
• Christopher Kush, MPP, CEO of Soapbox Consulting, who has trained thousands of federal, state, and local advocates to effectively advocate for their issues.

On Tuesday, March 11th, the advocates will descend on Capitol Hill for face-to-face meetings with their Members of Congress and their staff. The advocates will be lobbying for the bills outlined in the Cover Your Butt Campaign and for an increase in cancer funding at the National Cancer Institute.

We’ll celebrate the advocates’ successful meetings at the C3 Advocates and Breaking Boundaries Awards Dinner on Tuesday evening, where we will undoubtedly hear about the many inspiring moments that took place on Capitol Hill that day.

The advocates attending the Call-on Congress come from all walks of life. There will be advocates in their 30s all the way up to their 80s. There will be patients, family members of patients, activists and widows. Many will be making their first trip to Washington, DC. Some of them are very sick.

As they make their way to Washington, DC, today, there is a good chance the advocates are terrified of what we have planned for them. But they come anyway because they are driven by the need to make the world better for themselves and for every other colorectal cancer patient out there. They are soldiers in the fight, and they are our heroes.

During March – Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month – put your colorectal cancer awareness to work and help us pass butt covering legislation.

In about 10 days, colorectal cancer advocates will be on Capitol Hill urging their Members of Congress to support the three pieces of legislation that are supported by the Cover Your Butt Campaign. About a week after that – on Wednesday, March 19^th – we’ll be urging everyone across the US to participate in the Congressional Butt-In, a one-day phone blitz to Capitol Hill.

Take action. Put your Members of Congress on notice that they will be hearing from you and many others throughout Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month about the importance of making colorectal cancer screening available to everyone who needs it.

Anything less is just talk.

Join the Cover Your Butt Cause on Facebook and help us spread the word!

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Mark your calendar to join us for the Congressional Butt-In on Wednesday, March 19th, 2008. It’s a one day phone blitz to Capitol Hill where we’ll be demanding that our Members of Congress COVER OUR BUTTS! Check back in March for more info!